In our culture we use hours, days, months and years to mark time. However, in our everyday lives we often use key moments to frame our experiences.
June is one of those key times of the year that present important transitions and unforgettable experiences.
The end of the school year, graduation ceremonies for students, summer office hours for workers and family vacations and trips all signal the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another.
These transitions often are an opportunity for reflection. For Catholics, reflection takes on a deeper meaning when it includes our relationship with God. We call this an examination of conscience. In Salesian Spirituality, the examination of conscience is something Christians are invited to reflect on at the end of a task, an experience or even at the end of the day. In many ways it is the conclusion to the Direction of Intention.
At the beginning of a task we ask God to be with us and to give us the grace to perform this action. At the end of a task, we reflect on what we have done and what we have failed to do. We ask forgiveness, mercy and the chance to start over.
When addressing a group of Visitation sisters who were about to embark upon a move to a new monastery, St. Francis de Sales told the Sisters "those who go, stay; those who stay, go." He was reminding the community that the strength of their bond was not dependent upon staying in the same location, but on staying connected with each other by staying committed to their common way of life.
This assurance was the basis of a freedom of spirit that would help the Visitation community to grow all over the world. It is the same spirit that inspired the early Oblates of St. Francis de Sales to go from their familiar surroundings in Europe and plant roots in the United States. With this commitment and spirit, Salesian spirituality has bloomed in this country for over a century.
As the month of June brings about many transitions and experiences for all of us, may we have that same spirit of Francis, Jane and the Visitation to respond whenever and wherever God calls us to make moves in our own lives.
